Not Enough Time
by Gril4Life
Summary: During the battle of the Department of Mysteries, the six D.A members get thrown back in time by accident. How will they handle being around people that they love, without changing the timeline? Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1: More time

**I do not own anything that you might recognize. The Harry Potter universe belongs to the amazing and incredible J.K. Rowling.**

Chapter one

18th of June 1996

Hermione Jean Granger was not one to let go of her sense of logic and give in to her emotions. However what she had just watched, had been horrible enough for her to let go. Having witnessed the death of her best friend's godfather by the hands of his own cousin had been terrifying. Even more terrifying was the fact that she and her friends had been told to leave the room by the rest of the order, and get out of the department of mysteries. Not that they were supposed to be there to begin with. They would not have been, if Professor Snape had managed to teach Harry how to close his mind. They would not have been if Lord Voldemort had not used the connection to show him false pictures of Sirius being tortured.

"Which door is the right one?" she heard the voice of her best female friend ask. Ginny was obviously trying to keep her calm. Hermione was thankful of this, because she recognized that he could not keep Harry in control, if she was the only one who was not freaking out. Not that the others had much energy considering their injuries from the battle, and as Ron and Neville were using their last powers to literally drag the extremely agitated Harry across the floor, much to his dislike.

"I have absolutely no clue" Hermione answered with a deep sigh. She wished she had predicted that the door to the outside world would change place, and be unrecognisable. You see, Hermione Granger was not a person who particularly valued the art of guessing. Especially not when it came to hiding from a bunch of murderous death eaters, who had possible already made contact with their lord through the dark tattoos on their arms. She sighed deeply once again, feeling the pressure of being the person to know everything. It was know mystery that people considered her an insufferable know-it-all, as she since her first year, had been forced to take the responsibility to stay calm, be logical, and thereby keep her two best friends alive. "We will just have to guess, won't we?" she asked, as she opened a random door. It was not the exit. However, something drew her to enter the beautiful rectangular room filled with watches in all sizes, colours and shapes. The room just had this incredible, dancing light, that almost hypnotized her. When she would think back at this in the future, she would think of this as her greatest mistake.

"'Mione, that's not the exit" she heard Ron's voice comment. He sounded almost concerned. However, barely a second passed before one of the other doors opened, and the group of students all hurried to follow her.

"What are we doing hiding in here?!" Harry's voice suddenly pierced through the silence. When Hermione turned around to look at him, she saw that Ron and Neville had been forced to let go of him, to avoid getting injured any further. "She killed Sirius! Now, I don't know about you, but I'm not going to sit in here and wait for the murderer of my godfather to escape, when I can go out there and fight her!"

"Harry, calm down..." Hermione almost pleaded. "She wants you to go out there and fight her. They wanted you to come here. Don't you see it? If you go out there again, you may get hurt. Voldemort might show up. He might even kill you, and I will not allow you to die on my watch."

"Hermione, she _killed_ Sirius! Now, I don't know about you, but I will not let my only family be killed by a murderous maniac and not avenge him! I _cared_..."

"If you're insinuating that I did not care about Sirius, Harry James Potter, then you're terribly wrong. I cared about him a lot. If you would actually use that bright head of yours to think for a second, you would realize that without me, Sirius would have had his soul sucked out, and I don't know about you, but I'd much rather die. Now focus" Hermione drew a few deep breaths to calm down. She knew that Harry was grieving, and she knew that he had made it a habit to get angry when he did not know what to do. Still, he had been out of line. "Sirius came here to make sure that you did not get hurt. It would be a pretty bad way of repaying him to go out there and get killed by death eaters, or even Voldemort"- Ron shuttered - "oh, get a grip Ronald!"

"Hermione, she _killed_ Sirius! She tortured Neville's parents to insanity, and she _killed _Sirius!" Harry's stunningly green eyes met her brown ones, and she could see the tears in the corners of them being blinked away.

"You may not care if you die, Harry, but the rest of us do." Hermione walked towards him, and grabbed his hand comfortingly. Her voice then softened greatly. "I know that you wish you got to spend more time with him. I know..." the tears know trailed down his cheeks, though he still worked hard to appear tough, and look angry.

"I just..." Harry seemed to have forgotten that he had a crowd watching him, as he broke down in tears. "I wish that I had gotten to meet him _before_ all of this... I wish I knew him before he was driven insane by Azkaban, and losing his best friend, and..." Harry did not get to say anything more. Before he could continue, the room started spinning, and slowly vanish. The sensation scared the six friends a lot. A suffocating darkness that felt a lot like apparating swallowed them in.

25th of August 1976

The six young people all landed next to a phone booth in Muggle London, at about 8pm in the evening. Confused and light-headed. They looked around at each other, and then at their surroundings. Luna Lovegood, who had been quiet during the fight between Harry and Hermione, fiddled with her Butter-Beer caps. "What happened? The air out here is wonderfully fresh" she asked in her dreamy voice. Much to Hermione's annoyance, the whole group looked at her with their confused eyes. She sighed.

"I... I need time to think." she sighed, while forcing herself to focus on the facts, instead of Neville's broken nose, and Ginny's pained face. _Time_. Harry had just said that he wanted more _time_ With Sirius. The argument had been in the room of _time_. Time seemed to be a key word in this. And then she realized what was going on, as she looked at the others in horror. Harry had said that he wanted time with Sirius, before Azkaban and before James' death, in the room where the people of the ministry produced time-turners. "I have a vague idea... I just... I just hope that I'm wrong." The others sent her looks that showed even more confusion than before, which led her to look at Harry. "Harry, it's very important that you repeat to me exactly what you said before this happened."

"I... I said that I wanted to meet Sirius before his life was..." - Harry seemed to follow Hermione's train of thought, and mirrored her horrified expression. "You can't possibly think that... That the strange room granted me the wish?" he still had tear stains on his cheeks, and it was obvious that he had just left a battle. Hermione sighed deeply. "But that means that... Hermione, we have to find Bellatrix Lestrange! We can... We can prevent Sirius' death, we can save Neville's parents..."

"Harry, we can do no such thing..." Hermione sighed, as she moved closer to him. "Look, I know that you're angry and sad, but Harry... If we kill Bellatrix, we might change something crucial in the time-line. We can not change anything here. We... We need to speak to Dumbledore." She then concluded. "Ginny, how bad is you ankle?"

"Well, I can't walk all the way to Hogwarts if that's what's on your mind, but shouldn't we... You know, make sure that we actually _did_ travel back in time?" Ginny looked mildly sceptical, as she poked her ankle to find out how much it hurt. After feeling the pain, she realized that it was a mistake.

Hermione sighed. Ginny was right, of course. Dumbledore would think that they had all gone insane – well, except Luna who already was somewhat insane – during the battle, if they had just lift the ministry in an odd way. "Yes, we should... Um, Ron, I need you to carry Ginny... We have to get to the Leaky Cauldron. If we indeed did travel back in time, we can floo to Hogsmeade, and walk to Hogwarts from there."

The group walked through Muggle London, towards the leaky cauldron. It was not a short walk, and the awkward and deadly silence amongst them made it even less pleasant. They were all consumed in their own thoughts. What worried Hermione, however was how Harry would react to seeing his parents and godfather again. After having known him for years, she knew that he was not very rational in emotional situations, and that she would need to tell him on more than one occasion that he could not change anything. If he did, the consequences could be fatal, and they would likely return to a world that they did not recognize. A world in which they might not even exist. Hermione sighed. She could not think about that yet.

"It is so much warmer than before we left" she heard Luna's dreamy voice conclude. It was true. The weather was warm and dry, even though it was evening and England was not known for its warm weather. Hermione vaguely remembered the heat wave last summer, that had encouraged her parents to try forcing her out of her room, where she had spent her time reading... Until she went to the Burrow, and then Grimmauld place, that is. But Luna was right. It was very much warmer than it had been, when Harry and her had left Umbridge in the forest with centaurs. It felt like so long ago, and it almost stunned Hermione when she realized that it had only been hours earlier. She silently prayed that Umbridge was getting exactly what she deserved. And by a bunch of _Filthy Half-breeds _to make it even more perfect. This had been one of her greater ideas, but also an idea that made her wonder if she had been placed in Slytherin, had she been a pure blood.

"It really is..." she heard Ginny answer. When Hermione looked at back at her, she had a bitter expression on her face. Ginny was not a person who enjoyed receiving help from others. She preferred being somewhat independent, and being carried through London on Neville's back was not something she took lightly. "But then again... In our time you-know-who has control over the Dementors although the Ministry refuse to see it, and having them floating around really does suck out the warmth of summer"

They walked in silence until they reached the Leaky Cauldron. Hermione recognized that this was for the best, though, considering the current mood they were all in. They must have scared quite a few muggles on their way there, considering how obvious it was by looking at them, that they came from a fight. Hermione felt a sting of pain run through her body, but forced herself to ignore it. She opened the door to the small pub, and walked in. She did not waste any time approaching a stranger, asking if she could look at his issue of _The Daily Prophet_. As she looked at the front page, her eyes grew wide in shock.

"What does it say?" Ginny asked, looking at her. They were all somewhat anxious. Then again, no one could really blame them considering what they had just been through.

"It says that it's..." Hermione sighed deeply, and looked at her friends. "It's the 25th of August. 1976."


	2. Chapter 2: Nightmares

**I own nothing. All characters and places and stuff in general that you may recognize belongs to J.K Rowling.**

**A/N: Thanks for your kind response to my first chapter :D Here's the second one. Enjoy :D**

Chapter two

25th of August 1976

About an hour and a half had passed, when the six friends finally made their way into Hogwarts, greeted by a very confused-looking Dumbledore. It was weird seeing the castle without the leftovers of Fred and George Weasley's rebellion, but Dumbledore's presence calmed them all down a little. Well, the ones of them in need of calming anyway. The bearded professor in light-blue silk robes followed the group to his office. When they reached the gargoyle he looked at it with amused eyes. "Cockroach Clusters" he said to the gargoyle, as the stairs appeared in front of them. He motioned to the kids that they should follow him, and as they reached his office he smiled at them, with the infamous twinkle in his eyes. "So... How may I help you?"

"Professor, I barely know where to start" Hermione sighed, looking at him with desperate eyes. Harry was acting as if petrified, and the rest of the group was looking at Hermione expectantly. Hermione however did not know how to react at all. How exactly should she tell her headmaster's past self that six children by accident had travelled twenty years back in time, during a battle against death eaters in the Ministry of Magic? It was not exactly considered regular small talk. And then there was everything else. Their identities. How to avoid changing the time-line, and where they would stay until school started. Hermione felt the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"Well, then I suggest that we start with introductions" Hermione wondered how the old man could stay this calm, with six strangers in his study late in the evening, all wounded somehow. Then again, he always managed to keep calm in the most unpredictable situations. "Lemon drop?" he offered kindly, his eyes still twinkling.

"Oh, yes professor of course... I'm sorry. I'm Hermione Jean Granger" Hermione's mind worked very hard to find a way, in which she could explain the situation without revealing the future. She knew that what they were doing was dangerous, but if her theory was right and the only reason they had travelled back in time, was so that Harry could spend more time with Sirius, this was the quickest way for them to return where they belonged. "And this is my friends Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, Ron and Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter..." Hermione pointed at her friends as she mentioned their names. "You see, professor, we have quite an extensive problem... I will not go too much until detail about how we got here, but we um... Happened to be in the department of mysteries on the 18th of June 1996. I know it sounds unlikely, and I can not tell you the reason that we were there, but, um... My friend Harry and I got into an argument, in which he ended up saying out loud that he wanted more time with... Someone who was very dear to him, that has just passed." Hermione looked pleadingly at the others, wishing that she did not have to be the one to do this. Luckily, someone got the message.

"And then something odd happened... It was like a suffocating darkness, sir, and all of a sudden we were in Muggle London twenty years back in time..." Neville looked confused as Hermione sent him eyes of gratitude. She felt the sting of pain again, and wondered if she had been injured during the battle. Not that she could be bothered with small injuries at the time.

"That's an interesting story indeed." Professor Dumbledore looked at Hermione with his piercing blue eyes, and she got a strange feeling that he was entering her mind. She could not help but think of it as ironic, considering that Legilimency was the reason they were in this mess in the first place. "Although it does worry me quite a bit, that six of my future students would get injured to the extend that you children have, in the Ministry of Magic. I had hoped that this war would be over by 1996... But we can not always get what we wish for, now can we?" his eyes twinkled again, but this time they sought Harry. "You are the son of James Potter?" he then asked. Harry did not even move, let alone answer the question. Hermione got a feeling that he was trying to restrain himself for another fit of anger.

"Yes professor, he is, but we can not really go around and spoil the future, can we?" she looked at professor Dumbledore with pleading eyes, and he seemed to get her point. "Now, I've been thinking about our identities. Ron and Ginny" - she pointed at the two red heads - "would have a very hard time concealing their Weasley genetics, which is not really a problem. The Weasley family is fairly big, and I do not think that it would raise suspicion if they pretended to be distant relatives... Both of Luna's parents left Hogwarts quite a few years ago, and I do not think that they still have contact with anyone within the castle, so that's fine... And I'm a muggleborn, so my last name won't raise suspicion, but what about Harry and Neville, professor?"

"Ah, yes. You're very clever, Miss Granger..." Dumbledore looked at Harry and Neville with a wrinkled forehead, obviously thinking. "Mr. Longbottom, would you mind if we used a different last name for you?"

"No, sir... Not at all." Neville sighed deeply, and blushed a little. "Can I be... Neville Lawrence, then? I could pretend to be a muggleborn too... I would not have to prove my heritage" he added, suddenly finding his shoelaces very interesting.

"That sounds like quite a good plan, Mr. Lawrence. Now as for Mr. Potter..."

"Professor, aren't my grand parents members of the Order?" Harry suddenly spoke, causing everyone in the room, including the portraits of former headmasters to look at him.

"I see that you are familiar with the Order of Phoenix my boy" Dumbledore sent him the same piercing stare that he had sent Hermione earlier, and she was sure that he was trying to penetrate Harry's mind. Considering that Harry was terribly unskilled at Occlumcy, she was sure that he succeeded too. Hermione reminded herself that she would need to learn the art of closing her mind, so that Dumbledore would not see the future through her.

"Yes I am, professor... But couldn't you contact them? Ask them to pretend that I'm a relative in some way..." Harry asked. His eyes still looked slightly agitated, and Hermione knew him well enough to know that he would soon burst into anger again, but as for now he was keeping his calm.

"That's not an entirely bad idea, actually..." Hermione mentally kicked herself for not having come up with that herself. "They do not need to know the situation, do they? I mean, the time travel part of course... And then people would understand why you look so much like James..." Hermione nodded, while speaking. Dumbledore sent her an amused glance, his eyes happily twinkling. "We could tell them that you're a muggleborn like Neville and I, but that something happened to you in the past, and that Voldemort" - Neville and Ron both shivered - "Oh, get a grip, Ronald... And that Voldemort would send someone to off you if your 'real name' came out."

"Ah, yes... I will contact the Potter family right away. They always did like family, and as they only have one son..." Dumbledore smiled gently at the group, as if this was something that happened everyday. "As for sorting... I think that we should have you resorted during the ceremony next week. Now, I do realize that you were probably sorted when you originally arrived at Hogwarts, but it would raise suspicion if you just automatically have a house when you arrive... Out of curiosity... Which house were you in? - oh, and years of course."

"Everyone except Luna and Ginny would be sixth years by the start of term..." Neville said, with a vague smile. His face looked wrong with the broken nose. "And everyone except Luna were in Gryffindor..."

"I was in Ravenclaw" Luna smiled gently, as she almost sang the words. Her dreamy voice was somewhat calming, actually.

"Very well... But enough of that. I will have beds prepared for you in the great hall, but before you go to sleep, I would urge you all to go to the hospital wing. Whatever happened to you in the Department of Mysteries looks like it did a lot of damage. Good night" Professor Dumbledore smiled at them, as they left his study.

* * *

29th of August 1976

"DON'T KILL HIM!" Hermione heard a scream from one of the other beds, that had been made by the staff in the great hall. She would not have had to open her eyes to know which one of her friends the pained screamed came from, however. Ever since their arrival that Hogwarts, Harry had awoken the entire group with his nightmares. Not that he intended to, but Harry had a tendency to talk in his sleep, and relive traumatic experience in his dreams. Hermione had learned this over the years. She hurried out of her bed. Her hair was more bushy that usual, and she was wearing a Hogwarts crest pyjamas. When they had gotten to bed on the 25th they had expected to sleep in their muggle clothes. Dumbledore however, had generously given them the pyjamas, some school robes, and the books that they would need for the term. He had also taken Neville to Diagon alley to get him a new wand. Hermione could not help but smile at the thought. That however, was the most pleasant thing that they had faced yet. A much younger Madam Pomfrey had healed Ginny's ankle and Neville's nose, and had Hermione drink ten potions a day, because she apparently suffered from great internal injuries.

"Harry..." she said softly, as she sat down on his bed and grabbed his hand. Harry luckily awoke as she did so. "Harry, don't worry... You are safe now. We are all safe now."

"Hermione, she killed Sirius..." she heard his sleepy voice conclude. Hermione had a hard time not feeling sorry for the boy. She knew how important Sirius had been to him, and it was painful to see her best friend in so much pain. She did not know exactly how she could help him, but she knew that she wanted to. She heard Ron snore loudly from his bed. At least he had not awakened by his friend's tormented scream.

"I know, Harry..." Hermione said, and gently stroked his hair. If anyone had been watching this scene, they might have misunderstood her concern for Harry completely. They would have probably thought that they had a romantic connection, but Hermione did not care. She and Harry _did_ have a special bond. That bond however, was not even close to a romantic one. Harry was like a brother to her. He was her best friend, and she wanted to protect him from all the evil in the world. There was nothing more to it. "But you are here now... And we are safe"

"Hermione, what is the point anyway?" Hermione felt herself in shock from his cryptic question. He could not mean what she thought he did, could he? No. No. No. No. Harry was much too strong to think such thoughts, and even if he did think them, he would have had much too big of a hero-complex to even considering sharing them with her. "People die all the time... My parents... Cedric... Sirius... They die all the time to protect me, like I'm something special..."

"But you _are_ something special, Harry" Hermione squeezed his hand a little tighter, wishing that she could just take away half of the pain her friend felt. "The only reason we were there in the first place, was because you thought Sirius was being tortured. You thought that you were going to meet Lord Voldemort face to face, and you went because you wanted to save your god father. You did what you felt was right, and that makes you special" she knew that she might have sounded overly sappy, but she honestly just wanted her friend to realize that every death that he witnessed was not his fault. They were in the beginning of a war. People died in wars. The only ones to blame for their deaths, would logically be the ones who killed.

"But he was not there..." Harry insisted stubbornly, yet his voice sounded very far away. Hermione kept stroking his hair for a couple of minutes, before she got back to her own bed and looked up at the enchanted ceiling. She let out a little sigh, when she reality sank into her head. She did not know if they could ever return to their own time. She did not know if she would ever see her parents again.


End file.
